Finding traditional bites for sweet lovers<\/p>\n
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Take a stroll around Melawai, Blok M, in South Jakarta early
\nin the morning, around 5 a.m., and you will be accosted by the
\nsight of street vendors selling a wide variety of colorful and
\ntasty traditional snacks, still piping hot and with a delicious
\naroma.<\/p>\n
Don't bother to come after 7 a.m., though, as they will all be
\ngone by then. Sold out.<\/p>\n
The place is a center for traditional snacks, where many
\nvendors buy them to sell elsewhere. And it is one of the few
\nplaces where you can buy traditional snacks.<\/p>\n
These days, it is more difficult to find a shop where you can
\nget kelepon than one offering a brownie or cappuccino muffin.
\nWell, it is cosmopolitan Jakarta after all.<\/p>\n
Besides Blok M, you can find the snacks in the traditional
\nmarkets, or street vendors. A few bakeries, like Mon Ami -- one
\nof their branches is located on Jl. Pakubuwono, South Jakarta --
\nalso offer them.<\/p>\n
Their scarcity is a pity because traditional snacks are just
\nas tasty as any other desserts, good as a mid-morning snack or
\nfor the late-night munchies.<\/p>\n
Here we give you some of our favorites.<\/p>\n
Kue Lapis<\/p>\n
What? A steamed cake made of rice flour. Lapis literally means
\nlayers, and this cake is layer upon layer of delicately placed
\nsponge.<\/p>\n
What does it look like? Rectangular and stripy -- white and
\nbrown, or white and green or any other color, wrapped in plastic.<\/p>\n
How should it taste? Sweet, a bit greasy and rubbery. A good kue
\nlapis should not be too rubbery; when you bite and chew it, you
\ncan feel the rice flour as it is not smooth. It should smell
\ngood, especially the green one, as the color comes from fragrant
\npandan leaf.<\/p>\n
Combro<\/p>\n
What? A fried snack made of scraped cassava and filled with oncom
\n(fermented cake made from soybean sediment, doesn't sound too
\nappetizing but it is).<\/p>\n
What does it look like? Sort of like a chicken nugget, but round.
\nSome make it flattened, some make it like meatballs.<\/p>\n
How should it taste? Crispy and salty, and the oncom is a mix of
\nsweet and hot flavors.<\/p>\n
Kelepon<\/p>\n
What? A round steamed cake of sticky rice filled with brown sugar
\nand sprinkled with scraped coconut.<\/p>\n
What does it look like? Small, green (from the pandan leaf) balls
\nwith white scraped coconut. Usually arranged on small banana
\nleaves, four to five of them at once.<\/p>\n
How should it taste? As with kue lapis, it should not be too
\nsticky nor too smooth. The green cake is salty but sweetened by
\nthe sugar, which should melt as we bite into it.<\/p>\n
Onde-onde<\/p>\n
What? Round fried cake made of rice flour, sprinkled with sesame
\nseeds and filled with sweetened ground mung beans.<\/p>\n
What does it look like? Brown, but the sesame seeds provide a bit
\nof decoration.<\/p>\n
How should it taste? A bit crispy, not limp, but not sticky.<\/p>\n
Kue Ku<\/p>\n
What? Round steamed cake, filled with sweetened ground mung
\nbeans.<\/p>\n
What does it look like? Red, shiny, placed on banana leaf.<\/p>\n
How should it taste? Sticky, but not overly so, and sweet.<\/p>\n
Martabak<\/p>\n
What? A thick folded crepe. There are two types of martabak: asin
\n(savory) and manis (sweet). The savory one is filled with minced
\nmeat or chicken, while the sweet one is filled with cheese, milk
\nand chocolate sprinkles.<\/p>\n
What does it look like? Like a thick folded crepe, silly.<\/p>\n
How should it taste? Their downfall is when they are too thick
\nand sticky, or too spicy. It should be not too sweet, and the
\npancake crisp and chewy.<\/p>\n
Cendol<\/p>\n
What? A cold drink made of coconut milk with small, doughy rice-
\nflour droplets, sweetened by brown sugar.<\/p>\n
What does it look like? Brown with green droplets.<\/p>\n
How should it taste? Fresh and sweet. Be careful if you buy it on
\nstreet as the vendors often use artificial sugar.<\/p>\n
Kue pancong<\/p>\n
What? Baked cake of grated coconut and flour. Sundanese people
\ncall it bandros while Javanese call it gandos.<\/p>\n
What does it look like? White, a bit brownish as it is baked, and
\nin a half circle.<\/p>\n
How should it taste? Soft and salty (it smells good from the
\ncoconut). Many people like it because it is not as sweet as other
\ndesserts, but it's nice too when you sprinkle it with sugar.<\/p>\n
Dadar Gulung<\/p>\n
What? Rolled pancake filled with brown sugar and grated coconut.<\/p>\n
What does it look like? Usually green, wrapped in plastic.<\/p>\n
How should it taste? Not crispy, a bit rubbery, and the pancake
\nis salty.<\/p>\n
Lemper<\/p>\n
What? Snack made of steamed glutinous rice with meat or other
\nstuffing and wrapped in a banana leaf<\/p>\n
What does it look like? Cylindrical, wrapped in plastic.<\/p>\n
How should it taste? Deliciously salty, and the meat or chicken
\nusually is sweetened.<\/p>\n
Apem<\/p>\n
What? Cake of rice flour with leavening.<\/p>\n
What does it look like? Like a muffin, but much smaller, with
\ncracked surface.<\/p>\n
How should it taste? Spongy, sweet.<\/p>\n
Kue putu<\/p>\n
What? Steamed cake made of flour and palm sugar eaten with grated
\ncoconut. Usually sold by traveling hawkers, but an increasing
\nrarity.<\/p>\n
What does it look like? Cylindrical, green.<\/p>\n
How should it taste? Soft, not sticky; quickly falls apart as you
\nbite into it and the sugar melts in our mouth. Best eaten hot.<\/p>",
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